Jonathan Bernstein, Columnist

Here’s How New House Members Can Show Their Clout

Reviving the power of subcommittees would empower freshmen and give voice to more voters.

November 28, 2018 at 11:00 AM UTC

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

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It’s good news that first-timer House Democrats are pressuring Speaker Nancy Pelosi to increase their influence in the 116th Congress. That’s a very sensible use of their outsize numbers: More than a quarter of the Democrats in the House will be brand-new, and it’s appropriate that they want to do more than just rubber-stamp whatever the leadership wants.

Unfortunately, their mostly reasonable demands don’t include the one that would really shake things up in their favor: stronger House subcommittees.